Apparatus for attaching seal caps on bottles



Fb. 25, s O P EHL ET AL APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING SEAL CAPS ON BOTTLES Filed Oct. 17, 1934 lNVEnToRS: SVEN OTTO PIEHL HJ'HLMFIR FRIBERG- Patented Feb. 25, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING SEAL CAPS ON BOTTLES Sven Otto Piehl and Hjalmar Friberg, Stockholm, Sweden 2 Claims.

The present invention relates to such apparatus for attaching seal caps on bottles by pressing the skirt of the seal cap into a recess on the outside of the head of the bottle by means of a resilient ring, such apparatus comprising an abutment member for pressing the seal cap axially downwards towards the bottle opening, further a wedge member provided with an inclined guide face in relation to which the resilient ring is to be displaced so as to compress the ring radially, and a pressure member effecting the displacement of the ring in relation to the wedge member.

In previously known apparatus of this kind, the abutment member acting towards the bottle opening and the pressure member acting on the resilient ring have been rigidly interconnected, Whereas the wedge member Was displaceable in relation to them. The consequence hereof was that after having pressed down the abutment member towards the bottle opening, the bottle head, the abutment member and the pressure member became immovable in relation to each other. When thereupon the wedge member was displaced in relation to said members to compress the ring, the latter obtained therefore a radial motion which was fixed in relation to the abutment and pressure members.

It is, however, a known fact that the size and shape of the bottle neck, for example the position and depth of the bead and the recess are not exact, but subjected to considerable variations. Also the thickness of the head of the seal cap may vary. Since the abutment and pressure members in said known apparatus are rigidly interconnected, and the bottle head has a fixed immovable position in relation to them at the compression of the resilient ring, the ring might be compressed against a not desired part of the bottle head at varying dimensions of the bottle neck and/ or the seal cap. The bottle head will thereby readily be exposed to breakage owing to the fact that said members lack ability to adjust themselves for such variations.

The present invention has for its object to develop such an improvement of such apparatus to enable them to be reliably used independently of any occurring variations in the dimensions of the bottle head and the seal cap and without any danger of breaking the bottle head.

According to the invention, this is effected by arranging all of said three members (the abutment member, the pressure member, and the wedge member) axially movable in relation to each other. To this end the pressure member is suitably arranged in such a way that the same being urged by a spring device or the like is allowed to automatically be displaced in relation to the bottle during the sealing operation for the purpose of adjusting itself for any occurring vari- 5 ations in the size or shape of the bottle neck or the thickness of the seal cap head or both. According to a suitable embodiment the pressure member is connected to an abutment member, which is displaceable in the longitudinal direc- 10 tion of the bottle, by means of a spring device in such a way that, when the abutment member is displaced through the action of the counterpressure of the bottle, the resilient ring is displaced through the action of said spring device 15 in relation to the guide face so as to be radially compressed.

Other features of the invention will be further described in connection with the following detailed description of an embodiment illustrated on the accompanying drawing.

Fig. 1 shows in elevation an assemblage of the principal parts of the apparatus.

Figs. 2 and 3 show elevations, partly in section, of the parts active in the attachment of the seal cap, Fig. 2 disclosing the positions of the parts before the sealing operation, and Fig. 3 the positions of said parts after completed sealing operation.

Fig. 4 shows a section along the line IV-IV in Fig. 3.

The apparatus consists of a frame I supporting two or more uprights 2, on top connected by means of a yoke 3, which in its centre supports the device 4 for attaching the seal cap. 5 designates a cross-member slidable up and down along the uprights 2, the bottle 5 to be placed on said cross-member. The lowest position of the bottle can be adjusted by means of an adjustable screw 1. When the seal cap is to be attached to the bottle, the bottle is pressed upwards towards the device 4 by moving the cross-member 5 upwards by means of any suitable operating device, not shown, for example a lever mechanism.

It is assumed that the bottle during this motion has reached the position indicated in Fig. 2 without the bottle yet exerting any pressure on the device 4. A vertical rod 8 is centrally secured to the yoke 3, for example by means of a screw and nut connection. The rod 8 which thus will be stationary is below provided with a neck 9 of smaller diameter. In a bore in the neck 9 a pin I0 is attached, the two protruding ends of which without play engage holes II in 55 towards a each, other.

the walls of a cylindrical sleeve l2, below called the wedge member, which member thus in the illustrated embodiment will be stationary in relation to the frame; 7

The rod 8 with the neck 9 and the wedge member [2 serve as guides for an axially displaceable abutment grnember Hi. The rod 8 with the neck 9 isentered in bores l4 and i5 respectively of corresponding diameters in the abutment member l3, which at the bottom'is ended by a recessed cylindrical part 16, which is entered in and guided by the bore in the wedge member I22 The lower end of the part It is to abut against the seal cap, for which reason its end surface is formed in a way corresponding to the form of the top of the seal cap as shown in Fig. 2.

i1 is a spiral-spring which at the top isjeonne jted to the abutment member 13, suitably as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 by means of two studs [8, which at the bottom end are formed as hooks l9, said hooks supporting the spring at diametrically opposite points. The studs {3 are adjustably connected to the member l3jby means of the. nuts 26 so as to adjust the tension of the spring as desired. The spring I! is below connected with a pressure member 2|, The lower part of the spring enters and is guided by a central bore 22 inthepressin'e member 2|, and it is connected to the pressure member by means of pins 23 screwed into the wall thereof, which pins project above the coil of the spring to. hold it at opposite points asshown. The pressure member 2| is further provided with a central ibore'24', in'wh'ich the lower part of the wedge member I2 is inserted. 'The pressure member .25 is further on the bottom side provided with fan opening 25, into which the bottle head is to be entered. ,Between the opening 25 and the 'bore 24 the pressure member 21 'is provided with an upstanding annular collar 26' on top terminated by a plane bearing surface 21, upon which a resilient ring 28 loosely; rests. The top side of the resilient" ring bears against a conicalguide face 29 in the lower end of the wedge member nlthe position shown in Fig. 2, the resilient spring 28' also bears against the outside of the 7 lower end of the cylindrical part 5. The spring H is strained and urges the members l3 and 2| Hereby the collar '26 presses the ring 28iagainst the conical guide face 29, onthe wedge member 52, whereas the is stopped'by the pin I0, which will abut against the upper end of an oblengshole 32 provided in r the part Hi; the hole 30 'being'positi'oned some: what above the lower end of'the bore [5. In

shoulder 3| on the rod 3 and the bottomof the 7 of the part 16 so that the ring is somewhat widened when" the lower end of the part'lifi is entered into, the ring. The ring should further be so dimensioned that upon ccmpleted abutmentme'mber'w is pulled downwards but compression of the seal cap, the coils ofthe ring will abut or nearly abut against each other, whereby a mutuai guiding is obtained between the coils which prevents any injurious action on the ring. The ring 28 may also be designed in any other suitable way provided that it obtainstherequested qualities of resiliency. The

inclination of the guide face 29fi towards the 3g longitudinal axis is suitably selected to be q more, since a smaller angle readily causes the ring 28 to be keyed to the wedge member, par- 't'icularly if the diameter of the wire coils: of the 1ng28 is small.

When the cross-member 5 aremoved upwards, thebottle head with the seal cap entersthe opening 25 so that the top of the sealcap will abut against the end surface of the part I6; When the bottle is moved further upwards the abutment member [3% is pressed upwards, until the bottom of the bores I5 and I4 or one of these will abut against the end of the neck 9 or the shoulder 3| respectively. position-is shown in Fig. When the abutment inember'fls was moved upwards, also the pressure member Z-l was carriedaIOng bythe spring 11, which thereby willbe further strained; sincethe motion of the pressure member 21 cannot be as great as the motion of the abutmentmember l3 When the part l6 moves upwards 'its lower end is brought out of the ring 28, which now instead will "bear against the skirt of the seal'cap, At the same time the pressure member 2i moves upwards so that the collar 21 will force the ring 28 to be displaced upwards along the beveled guide face 28. This causes the ring to be resiliently compressed in the radial direction an-d the-ring is pressed with increased force'against the skirt of the seal cap. When the bottle has been-raised so much that the annular recess 32 on the bottle head is at the. same level as the'resilient ring, the J When the bottle thereupon is moved downwards; the members 1'3 and 21 will also move and thus the bottle 6 downwards; and'the bead 33 on the bottle head forces the ring 28 to be widened so that the lower end of the part I6 again will be entered into and embraced by the ring. Thusall parts will automatically return to the positions shownin Fig. 2.

'The bottom surface of the part 16 is preferably provided with a downwardly projecting annular edge so arranged that-the same will be entered into the resilient ring 28, when the latter is widened by the bead on the bottle neck at the removal of-the bottle. thus retaining the ring 28 in its initial p esition and preventingit from falli l ing oif. this position axial plays are formed between the i Having now particularly describedthe nature of our invention and the manner of its operation what we-claim is:-

1. Apparatus for attaching seal caps on bottles,

wherein the seal cap skirt is deformed to enter a recess on the bottle head, comprising an abutment member adapted to abut againstthe top'of theseal cap, a ring enclosing the seal cap and adapted to be compressed resiliently in the radial direction around the seal cap, a pressure member supporting saidring and adaptedto axially displace said ring, a wedge member provided with an" inclined guide face adapted to cooperate with said ring and compress the same when the ring is axially displaced by the pressure member, said abutting member, pressure member, and wedge member being axially movabiy arranged in rela-" 76 tion to each other, said abutment member being axially movable in relation to the bottle and connected to said pressure member by means of a spring member so that upon axial displacement of said abutment member through the pressure of the bottle, said spring member by means of said pressure member will displace the resilient ring along the guide face of the wedge member so as to radially compress the ring around the seal cap skirt.

2. Apparatus for capping bottles by deforming the skirt of a seal cap to enter a recess on the bottle head, comprising a bottle support, capping members, a support for said capping members, means for axially moving said supports in relation to each other to seal the bottle, said capping members comprising a resiliently compressible ring adapted to enclose the seal cap and to be compressed in radial direction around the seal cap, a counter member stationarily secured to the support for the capping members, a pressure member arranged axially movable in the last named support, said ring being arranged in an interspace between the counter member and the pressure member which are provided with surfaces abutting against the ring and so adapted that the ring is radially compressed when the counter member and the pressure members are moved towards each other, an abutting member arranged axially movable in the support for the capping members and adapted to abut against the top of the seal cap, and a spring device connecting said two axially movable members and adapted to yieldingly move the pressure member towards the counter member when the abutment member is axially displaced through the action of the bottle until the capping operation has been completed.

SVEN OTIO PIEHL. HJALM'AR FRIBERG. 

